OWINGS MILLS, Md. — There are decisions everyone makes in life, some trivial, some that affect the rest of your life.

Too many times we hear about bad decisions young people make, which was not the case with former Glen Mills School standout running back Bernard Pierce, a rookie with the Baltimore Ravens who drafted him in the third round out of Temple.

The Ravens (10-6) will take on the Indianapolis Colts (11-5) and Andrew Luck today at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore (1 p.m., CBS3). That Pierce will play a significant role in an NFL playoff game in his first year as a pro is amazing. The journey he took to get here makes it even more improbable.

Pierce was assigned to Glen Mills for a year to get his life back in order after falling in with the wrong crowd as a youth. Like many teenage boys who are required to attend the school for court-adjudicated youth, Pierce was encouraged to play sports.

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He was so dominant as a running back for the Battlin’ Bulls, his coaches and the school gave him the option to stay for his senior year with the idea of getting a football scholarship. Pierce was a two-time All-Delco, racking up 2,917 yards and scoring 40 touchdowns in two seasons at the Mills. Pierce admitted that wasn’t the only reason he stayed.

“I didn’t have to stay, but at the end of the day, I had to do some soul-searching,” Pierce said Friday in the Ravens locker room. “I had to think that if I go back home, most likely I’m going to do the same things I did before I ended up at Glen Mills. I had to make a smart, conscious decision to put myself in a better place. And to do what’s best for me. That was my main concern.”

Pierce’s decision could not have been a better one.

As a rookie backing up Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice, Pierce has turned into an ideal change-of-pace runner for the Ravens. He’s carried the ball 108 times for 532 yards and a touchdown.

His 78-yard run against the New York Giants in a Dec. 23 game was the longest of the season for the Ravens and helped Baltimore blow out Big Blue, 33-14.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said Friday that he didn’t consider Pierce to be that much of a gamble on draft day last spring.

“He’s everything we expected him to be,” said Harbaugh, who was special-teams coordinator (1998-06) and secondary coach (2007) for the Eagles before taking over the Ravens in 2008. “He might have been on some radar screens being a third-round pick, but we thought he was a first-round talent as a running back coming out. He has first-round personality; he’s got first-round character. He is everything and more than we expected.”

Pierce said he is ready to take on a bigger role now that the playoffs are here.

“It’s a long time coming,” Pierce said. “I always had that competitive edge, so I am going to give my all. It’s very exciting in my first year to be part of a great organization and go to the playoffs.”

Pierce described his style as not unlike that of Eagles rookie Bryce Brown, who turned heads his first two games as a starter.

“I’d say my style of running is I’m a downhill runner,” Pierce said. “I will initiate contact if need be. I run a little angry, a little more aggressive. But I will also try and get around you if need be. Ray (Rice) is a little more shifty than I am. He has little more lateral agility than I have. But it is definitely a good changeup (when I come in). But at the end of the day, I’ve got to be smart.”

Pro Bowl center Matt Birk said Pierce has been a bit of an unexpected addition to the offense this year.

“He certainly surprises you, because you never know what contributions you’re going to get out of rookies,” said Birk, a 15-year NFL veteran. “Bernard has come in and as the season went on, continued to get better and improve. Obviously his carries have increased as the season has gone on. He’s made his impact felt. He’s broken some long runs for us and that’s real key. The NFL season is a long season and guys who carry the ball take a real beating. Not only is it nice in the course of a game to have a little changeup to put him in there for Ray, but as Bernard’s proved that he can do it, he’s kept Ray a little bit fresher. You can’t have enough good, quality running backs.”

Pierce said he thinks about all the coaches he had at Glen Mills and Temple and the positive influence so many had on him and how it has paid off.

On Bulls head coach Kevin Owens and his staff, Pierce said, “They were great guys; I still stay in touch with some of them.”

He also talked about Francis Brown, a defensive assistant when Pierce played at Temple.

“He was young and we had that open communication with each other,” Pierce said. “We could say whatever we wanted to each other and be 100 percent honest with each other.”

That communication with coaches has carried over into the pros for Pierce. As for Harbaugh, Pierce said, “We don’t have just a football line of connection. It’s more like we’ll text and call each other. We’ll talk to each other, whenever. Even outside the facility on weekends just to check up on each other. He’s a great coach.”

Like the rest of the Ravens, Pierce is focusing on the task at hand, beating the Colts. But he admitted to considering the chances of making it to New Orleans and the Super Bowl.